21 January, 2015

It's been far too long since I've mentioned Tim Marquitz on the blog, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been as active as ever. I have a couple of his books up in the queue very soon, but the problem is I never know when to start. The man's a machine, consistently pushing out high quality stories that enthrall you from page one.

I've loved Tim's work since I first discovered Armageddon Bound and the Demon Squad series. Tim's got a new book out from Permuted Press and I will be reading it next for sure. Just look at the blurb for Dirge:

Wreathed
in the ashes of betrayal, forced to come of age in the dungeons of her stolen
inheritance, Kallie Brynn Soren died so that Dirge might be born.

In
the midst of an undead invasion, Kallie is gifted powers by a dying priest. His
last wish is for her to use them against the Necrolords in a way his faith
would not allow. Reborn as Dirge and free of the priest’s conscience, she is more than happy to do so.

But
when fate brings Dirge into the employ of the emperor–the
same man whose machinations brought about the murder of her father–the
opportunity for revenge becomes too much to ignore.

Torn
between vengeance and the need to protect the only people she dare call family,
Dirge learns there is a much deeper purpose to the Necrolord’s advance. Should it come to light, it might
destroy everyone.

You'll find the giveaway below, and believe me, you want to enter this one. But first, Tim's here to talk about Zombies and Dirge, not your typical zombie story...

______________________

These Ain’t Yo Mama’s Zombies

“This isn’t your typical zombie story,” is a line that pops up all too frequently these days. Authors are always trying to include the lovable hunks of decomposing flesh while spinning the concept as something new, something no one else has done or thought of. Sadly, that’s pretty damn hard to do without destroying the basis of what’s come before; what people understand to be zombie stories. Fortunately, I’m not here to tell you that I’ve reinvented the zombie and Dirge is a whole new chapter of never before seen undead action.

I’m just gonna imply it.

No, not really. The truth is, zombies play a relatively small role in Dirge. While they most certainly fill the background, and are the general foe laid out before our heroine, they’re truly the least of her concerns. It’s the masters pulling the strings behind the curtain Dirge has to worry about. The zombies are pretty average for the most part, barring a couple of rare examples.

That said, there’s still plenty of the human drama that makes up a great zombie tale, not to mention some good gore and action. That’s what you’re checking in for, right? Blood, guts, and brains.

Well, hopefully it’s more about the last one as I decided, somewhere along the way to creating Dirge, that I wanted to style the book after more literary sources. I didn’t want just another zombie story where the zombies got their skulls bashed in and the good guys try not to become the monsters they are so desperately trying to destroy. I wanted to create a character who stood out on the world, who was more than muscles and bones wielding a weapon to slaughter the undead, yet still offer up the chaos expected of a zombie book.

Guess you’ll let me know if I’ve succeeded.

______________________

Tim Marquitz bio:

Tim Marquitz is the
author of the Demon Squad series, the Blood War Trilogy, co-author of the Dead
West series, as well as several standalone books, and numerous anthology
appearances including Triumph Over Tragedy, Corrupts Absolutely?, Demonic
Dolls, Neverland's Library, and the forthcoming No Place Like Home and
Blackguards.

The Editor in Chief
of Ragnarok Publications, Tim most recently compiled and edited the Angelic
Knight Press anthologies, Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous and
Manifesto: UF, as well as Ragnarok Publications' Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters.

05 January, 2015

As I'm want to do, I like to go through the SF Signal list (which you can find here) and (1) pick out the ones that I am interested in, and (2) show only those that are $3 and less. Anything more and it's not really a deal imo, at least not a very good one.

I know this is a bit of a lame deal to latch onto their hard work (or externality in economics terms), but I had to do my own kind of work on this AND I included prices. Worth it's weight in gold right? :) And you really should check out the expanded list anyway, I always find it fun to look through lists of pretty much any kind of book.

[$0.99] Wars to End All Wars: Alternate Tales from the Trenches (anthology) Edited by N.E. White and Rob Bedford
[$0.99] His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1) by Naomi Novik
[$0.99] The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

03 January, 2015

I had a really slow year this year when it comes to reading. It doesn't help that I moved a couple states away, got a new job that keeps me busier than ever, and I'm trying to keep up with three kids any moment they're awake. My Goodreads goal of 50 books, a decrease from last year because I knew there was a possibility of some changes, was only met by 64% (that's only 31 books).

However, a number of those books were new releases and it was a great year for those. Below you'll find my top 7 new releases for 2014. I was going to narrow it down to five, but I found myself trying to cheat by posting "ties" and I honestly hate that so I gave the actual number even if not so round.

Following that list are some more year-end wrap up awards if you can even call it that. Mostly, I wanted to have a chance to talk about the books I loved this year one extra time.

Pilo Family Circus by Will Elliott - Seriously, you need to read this if you haven't already. At first glance, it doesn't sound like much, but it was absolutely one of my favorites of the last number of years.

Best Stand-Alones

Tie for Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway and Blackdog by K.V. Johanson. Remember, I said I hate ties in numbered lists. No numbers here, so I can have a tie. Both these were absolutely astounding reads. They are completely different, one a contemporary mystery with a wonderful sense of humor (Angelmaker) and one an epic fantasy set in a non-European medieval times (Blackdog).

Best Audiobooks

Ilium and Olympos by Dan Simmons. This is really just one extended book that blew me away from start to finish. Simmons is a mad genius to combine all the elements he combines here and pulls it off stupendously.

Biggest Disappointment

Impulse (Jumper #3) by Steven Gould - I had high hopes after the first two excellent installments. Combining the elements that made the first two great with teen angst and holier-than-thou characters made it a bit tough to stomach.

Missing

Blood and Iron by Jon Sprunk (currently reading), Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans (currently reading), Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson, The Emperor's Blades by Brian Stavely, Assail by Ian Cameron Esslemont (though I did make progress by reading Stonewielder), and tons more. There are plenty of authors I've just gotten behind in keeping up with their new series such as Brent Weeks and Daniel Abraham and tons more I'm dying to begin. I'll have to do better this year I guess.